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Jury indicts Onyeri, 2 others in conspiracy to kill Judge Kocurek

Chimene Onyeri, 28, is a suspect in the shooting that injured State District Judge Julie Kocurek.

A federal grand jury has indicted three members of what authorities describe as a conspiracy that plotted fraud and racketeering schemes and attempted to carry out the murder of State District Judge Julie Kocurek.

The indictment names Chimene Onyeri, who was named as a person of interest soon after Kocurek was shot in the driveway of her West Austin home, and 26-year-old Marcellus Antoine Burgin of Cypress, and 24-year-old Rasul Kareem Scott of Marrero, La.

According to federal authorities, the 11-count indictment charges the trio with one count of conspiracy to participate in
an enterprise engaged in a pattern of racketeering activity; one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud; and one count of aggravated identity theft. Onyeri is also charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud; an additional count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud; and six additional counts of aggravated identity theft.

The indictment comes nearly 10 months after Kocurek was attacked after returning home from a high school football game. Authorities have said an assailant opened fire as the driver of her car stopped in the family’s driveway to remove a bag of trash that investigators think had been intentionally placed to obstruct Kocurek’s path.

Kocurek was wounded and spent about two months in the hospital before returning to the bench in February, saying she felt as though “I’ve been reborn.”

District Judge Julie Kocurek returned to the bench Feb. 29 after spending weeks recovering from an assassination attempt in November 2015. RALPH BARRERA/ AMERICAN-STATESMAN

In a later interview, she described her injuries, saying that she reflexively raised her arm to shield herself during the shooting, and she confirmed that she has lost a finger on her left hand.

“I feel very lucky that is all I lost,” she said.

Kocurek is currently presiding over the high profile murder trial of Mark Norwood, who is accused in the 1988 murder of Debra Baker in North Austin.

Before the shooting, Onyeri was wanted in Travis County after he was accused of violating a probation sentence tied to a 2012 larceny charge and likely was going to be sent to prison. The matter was before Kocurek’s court, giving what investigators say is a possible motive for him to harm her.

Onyeri’s attorney has said that he has been framed by an ex-girlfriend, and that Onyeri had no motivation to harm a judge and realizes that doing so wouldn’t have prevented him from being sent to prison.